Traction device for use with vehicle tires



June 8, 1954 c. STEVEN 2,680,567 TRACTION DEVICE FOR USE WITH VEHICLE TIRES Filed July 22, 1952 INVENTOR 11 4 6.5mm

ATTORNEYS 1950 (now abandoned) Patented June 8, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRACTION DEVICE FOR USE WITH VEHICLE TIRES Ivan C. Steven, Mount Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application July 22, 1952, Serial No.

3 Claims.

continuation in part of 148,571, filed March 9, and relates to that class of traction devices commonly termed traction mats, which are laid on the ground to provide This invention is a application Serial No.

are complicated and, therefore, uneconomical, difficult to operate, and subject to mechanical failure.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a traction device which is rugged, but inexpensive, simple to operate, and well suited for freeing vehicle wheels from'ruts and the like.

frame.

Other characteristic features and advantages of the invention ing drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view proved traction device.

of my imor otherwise secured, at 26 Figure 2 is a view showing the traction device applied to a vehicle whe In this view, the traction device is shown in section and various positions of the wheel and clip are indicated by dotted lines.

side arms 5a of the clip pivotally secured to the links by suitable pivots I 0. The side arms of clip 5 are preferably curved as shown in the drawings to snugly fit the tread and sides of the thus preventing the bending the operation of the device.

Tire clip 5 is provided with a tongue 25 riveted,

and are provided with pointed ends Hi adapted to be embedded in the ground, ice, or the like.

By locating the anchoring plates l3 on the outside of links 6, it can be seen that it is impossible for the links 6 to be rotated upwardly (clockwise as shown in Figures 1 and 2) with respect to frame i. This construction is very advantageous as will be shown below.

Intermediate portions of links 6 lying between clip 5 and frame member I are rigidly connected together by an angle iron cross member [6 presenting inclined downwardly directed legs which preferably project below the lower edges of links 6 a distance approximately equal to the projection of the anchor plates 13 below said links. The upper corner lSc of angle iron It provides an anti-slip friction surface.

My improved anchoring device is used as illustrated in Figure 2. The side arms 5a of clip 5 are fitted over the tire H as indicated by the dotted lines with the tongue 25 located along the peripheral surface of the tire. When initially engaged, the tongue, of course, would not be under the tire as shown in Figure 2. The position shown in Figure 2 is that which the tongue assumes after the tire has moved a slight distance in the direction of the arrow to the position indicated by broken lines A. Links 5 and the frame 1 extend from the clip in the direction of travel of the wheel I2, such direction being indicated by the arrow. During its travel toward the frame '3, the wheel i2 reaches a position, indicated by dotted lines B, in which the tire H has rolled over the cross member {8 so that the links 8 and the pivotal axis of the clip 5 are prevented from moving with the wheel 12 as th latter travels from the position A to the position B. By the time the wheel reaches the last mentioned position designated B, it has almost completed freeing itself from the clip 5. At this point, the weight of the tire is practically removed from cross member it. Links 6 engage the horizontal portions of anchoring member 13 and are thus prevented from rotating upwardly and around the tire. Clip 5 is, therefore, forced to be completely disengaged from tire H as the tire moves toward the end of frame 1'.

@1e cross member 55a and the anchoring plates l3 are driven into or firmly against the ground by the weight of the vehicle as the wheel it travels to a position indicated at A and E.

Figure 3 shows a modified type of clip for attachment to the wheels of automobile trucks. In this case, a clamping lever 18 is pivotally secured to one of the side arms 5a of the clip to increase the tire gripping emciency of the clip. This clamping lever is mounted to swing about a pivot 19 and includes a handle member 29 and a tire clamping member 2 i, the latter being movable through a slot 22 in the clip when the clamping lever is swung from the full line to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 and vice versa.

When not in use, the traction device described herein may be folded to occupy a minimum amount of storage space by first swinging the clip 5 about its pivots ill to dispose the side arms of the clip parallel or substantially parallel with the links 8 and then swinging the clip and the links counter-clockwise about the pivots 12a to a folded position over frame 1.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows.

I claim:

1. A traction device for use with a vehicle tire comprising, a rigid frame member, rigid links having corresponding ends thereof pivotally secured to said frame, a tire engaging clip carried by and pivotally secured to corresponding opposite ends of said links at points intermediate the ends and bight portion of said clip, and a rigid cross member extending between and rigidly secured to intermediate portions of said links, said cross member being spaced a substantial distance from said frame to prevent said cross member, by engagement of the tire with said cross member, from being pulled with said clip up around the tire, said spacing enabling the tire to travel from said cross member to said frame member with a portion of the weight of th tire always carried by one of said members, said bight portion swingable in close proximity to said cross member, a lateral portion of said cross member extending below said links to form a load supporting surface with the ground when the the passes over said cross member.

2. A traction device for use with a vehicle tire comprising, a rigid frame member, rigid links having corresponding ends thereof pivotally secured to said frame, a U-shaped tire engaging clip carried by and pivotally secured to the corresponding opposite ends of said links at points intermediate the ends and bight portion of said clip, and a rigid cross member extending between and rigidly secured to intermediate portions of said links, a portion of said links forward of said cross member being inclined upwardly a distance approximately equal to the distance between the bight portion of said clip and the pivotal connection to said links to cause the bight portion of said clip to be on approximately the same level as said cross member when said clip is in a substantially vertical position.

3. A traction device for use with a vehicle tire comprising, a rigid frame member, rigid clongated link members having corresponding ends thereof pivotally secured to said frame, a U- shaped tire engaging clip carried by and pivotally secured to the corresponding opposite ends of said link member, and a rigid cross member extending between and rigidly secured to bite mediate portions of said link members, said clip being formed of spring steel, and said frame including a bar parallel to said cross member and rigidly attached to said frame structure at the clip end thereof, said cross member being spaced a substantial distance from said bar to prevent said cross member, by the engagement of said tire with said cross member, from being pulled with said clip up around said tire, whereby the tire, having been engaged by said clip, will move toward said frame, over said cross member and onto said bar, forcing said clip to be disengaged from said tire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

